The Region's Team Of Northwest Indiana

Joliet, Ill. – July 26, 2016 – Hits were a dime a dozen, but runs were few and far between for the Northwest Indiana Oilmen on Tuesday.

The Oilmen racked up 12 hits, but left at least one runner in scoring position in seven of the nine innings in an 8-4 loss to Joliet.

“We had them on the ropes in a lot of innings,” Oilmen manager Adam Enright said. “We had a lot of hits, but they were poorly timed. I guess we were overwhelmed by the situation. The pitchers were still throwing the same stuff, but the stuff that we were able to get hits on with nobody on was the stuff that was able to get us out with runners in scoring position.”

One of the two innings when the Oilmen did not leave a man at second or third was the fifth, when Jordan Flint (Eastern Illinois / Bartlett, Ill.) ripped a two-out single to center – one of the few clutch hits of the day by the Oilmen – but it went to waste as Cory Krolikowski was cut down at home trying to score from second.

The Oilmen thought Krolikowski avoided the catcher’s tag, but an argument by Enright didn’t alter the opinion of the home plate umpire.

“I thought we had two runs taken away from us, and I’m not one to complain about umpires,” Enright said, referencing the play at the plate and a ball called foul down the line off the bat of Chase Dawson. “That’s a two-out and two-run swing on those calls.”

The Oilmen made three total outs on the bases, including a play where Dawson was cut down at home on a ground ball to first by Tommy Szczasny that turned into a double play and took the Oilmen out of a second-and-third nobody out spot in the first inning.

Oilmen pitcher Max Siedlecki (New Mexico Highlands / Evanston, Ill.) struggled from the outset, allowing three runs in the first and two more in the second. He grinded through three additional frames without further damage, but still took the defeat to drop to 2-2.

“Everything was up,” Enright said. “He didn’t have his really good stuff, but still gave us a chance to win. He always throws strikes. He started throwing both side of the plate more as the game went on.”

Joliet starter Nick Newman notched the win after scattering nine hits over six innings while yielding three earned runs and walking three. The victory was his first decision of the season.

After two being retired on two previous two-out, RISP chances, Tyler Sroczynski (Trinity Christian / Dyer, Ind.) looped a two-run single to right in the sixth to cut the deficit to 5-3. Sroczynski recorded his third straight two-hit game.

After the second inning, the Admirals didn’t score again until the eighth, when they poured in three runs against Oilmen reliever Sam Geraci (Illinois Springfield / Steger, Ill.), who had worked scoreless frames in the sixth and seventh.

The Oilmen got a ninth-inning run when Flint delivered a two-out triple to plate Szczasny.

Krolikowski (Minnesota Duluth / Bartlett, Ill.) was the offensive star of the game for the Oilmen. He ripped two doubles to double his season extra-base hit total from two to four. His first double drove in the first run of the game.

The Oilmen (25-20) drop to third place in the MCL, ½ game behind the second-place Admirals (23-19). The Oilmen are now two games in back of the first-place Hounds.

The Oilmen return home on Wednesday to Paint the Game Pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness. Tickets are available now on NWIOilmen.com for the game between the Oilmen and Lakers, which begins at 7:20.